Teaching Advice: Don’t Smile until Christmas

August 9th, 2010

I remember when I entered my classroom for my first teaching position. I had 24 mismatched desks (I needed 28) and the only supplies in my closet were paper clips and ditto masters for a machine that was long gone.

That first year in the classroom can be a really tough year and veteran teachers in my hall stopped by to give me bits of wisdom. Some advice was great, some was lousy. One gal told me to be myself. Yeah, well, myself wasn’t a teacher, so I didn’t know how to act. I didn’t know what worked for me and what just felt wrong.

Another teacher told me never to turn my back on my students. Can you imagine how crazy I would have looked if I tried to write on the chalkboard while facing my students? I couldn’t figure out how that would work, so I didn’t do that, either.

The best advice I’d received: You teach on your feet and plan on your seat.

 I’ve expanded this to mean that it’s good practice to circulate around the classroom and stop at students’ desks. Sitting behind your own desk isn’t the best place to be between bells.

Circulating among your studentswill give you better classroom management and you’ll be accessible to even the shiest kid. Don’t feel tied to the front of the room or your lectern. Develop ways to get out into the crowd instead.

The worst advice I’d received: Don’t smile until Christmas.

This advice is so common as to be a cliché. Over a dozen veteran teachers gave me this advice and I know many other teachers who’ve received it, too.

The logic behind not smiling is that students will take the new teacher seriously if she never smiles. The teacher and the students are in the classroom to work. Having fun just leads to disorder and noise. Better not to smile than to open the floodgates of chaotic fun.

Many new teachers aren’t much older than their students. If the new teacher doesn’t have the advantage of looking the part of a teacher, a serious expression will help bolster her authority. Some new teachers also make the mistake of befriending their students. Not smiling until Christmas makes it difficult for the new teacher to fall into this trap.

How to be taken seriously and smile, too

It truly is a good idea not to smile at some times during the day.  If you’re emphasizing how important it is for students to study for an exam, you’re probably not smiling. That’s O.K. The following cautions will help you to be taken seriously when you need to get your classroom discipline message across.

Do not give students mixed messages. Do not smile when you’re correcting or redirecting behavior. Stay neutral when discussing behavior. Later, smile as a reward for students who are behaving well.

Don’t play favorites. Nothing undermines your credibility like playing favorites. If the editor of the yearbook is passing notes, stop her. If your next-door-neighbor’s daughter is texting under her desk, stop her. If the smartest kid you’ve ever met lets a cuss word slip, remind him to correct his words. Students are watching what you do and how you react. There’s no way you’ll be able to stop your C-student from passing notes if she saw you let the editor’s behavior go unnoticed. These are all tests; make sure you pass.

Be consistent. If you hold a student’s cell phone until after class, you’d better be prepared to do the same thing for every student you catch texting. Don’t let the yearbook editor slide her phone into her backpack. If members of a work group are off-task and you separate them to work individually, be prepared to separate all off-task groups, even those that are accomplishing something.

Don’t punish a group for an individual’s mistake. If at all possible, handle discipline matters with individual students. Don’t hold a class after the bell for talking when everyone knows it was those kids in the back row – again. You’ll just build resentment.

Handle discipline in a quiet way. Don’t call out a student for her behavior in front of the whole class. If you’re circulating around the room, it should be easy to stop by her desk, squat down to her level, and have a quiet conversation about her rude remarks. Maintain student dignity and you’ll earn the students’ respect.

A genuine smile is never wrong

The teacher who told me to be myself in the classroom was right: don’t do things that feel unnatural. The students will see right through it. Smile when it feels natural. A sincere smile can be a form of praise or just a connection between you and the student.

In my job as editor of Inside the School, I’m lucky to meet some of the country’s top educators. Almost every time I meet one of these educators, a reoccurring theme crops up: teacher – student connections are very important to the learning process. If a teacher takes the time to get to know his students and enjoys the students as people, the students are more likely to try hard in that teacher’s class. The kids genuinely want to make the teacher proud.

So, I’m giving you permission to smile before Christmas. Try smiling before Labor Day, too. It makes you more approachable, makes your classroom a nice place to be, and improves your mood, too.

What do you think? Should teachers smile before Christmas? How about before Halloween? What’s the best piece of teaching advice you’ve received? What’s the worst? Please share in the comments.

Photo Credits:
The weather outside is frightful!: jessica.garro on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Have  a Holly Jolly Christmas: Lin Pernille ♥ Photography on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Gift Giver: makelessnoise on Flickr.com Crative Commons